The Cursed Monkey’s Paw

  I first heard this tale through a Japanese anime called XXX Holic (the XXX doesn’t mean the same thing in their culture as in ours!) Epasode 8 entiled “Contract.” 

  A young woman comes ito possesion of the mummified Monkeys Paw.  Knowing that the legeneds of it are evil, she disregards them, believing she has a strong character that cannot be influenced.  The Paw’s finger’s break each time a wish is made, giving the owner five wishes.  One of her wishes comes accidentally when she almost misses her subway train. A woman throws herself on the subway tracks, stalling the train due to the woman’s suicide.  Another wish comes when she asks that her term paper might garner attention and respect from the proffesors.  The Monkey’s Paw switches her paper with that of the classes genious. She is then accused of theft and plagerism, and dismissed from the class. This is the most current version of the story I’ve found so far.

  When I did the research farther I was surprised to learn The Monkey’s Paw is actually a short story written by English author W.W. Jacobs, published in 1902.  In this original version the story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert. The parents wish for money, and are given it as a compensation for their son’s accidental death. A week after the funeral, Mrs. White’s grief is so great she wishes for her son to came back to life.  And he does, as a zombie, pounding on their door.  Read the full story here at-   http://www.americanliterature.com/Jacobs/SS/TheMonkeysPaw.html

It was also retold as an Alfred Hitchcock special in 1965, and has been feature in several other venues. For more informatin I highly recomend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey’s_Paw.  This is a fascinating bit of fiction and I hope it can influence other writers imaginations.

Have a great weekend everybody!